Goat Rock Lake is a 940 acre reservoir on the Chattahoochee River that lies between Lake Harding and Lake Oliver. With over 25 miles of shoreline bordered by the state of Georgia on one side and Alabama on the other, it is a peaceful body of water not frequently seeing recreational activity. The occasional fisherman can be seen enjoying the solitude that can be found in this little wild space. Because of its seclusion and serenity, various forms of wildlife take refuge along the lake. Cormorants, Canadian geese, ducks, ospreys, and even the majestic bald eagle can be spotted out and about along Goat Rock.

Though recreational activity on Goat Rock is limited, like many other natural spaces near human activity, trash has accumulated along the lake and can be seen littering the shoreline.

On Monday our organization spent several hours cleaning up trash along the shoreline of this waterway. We traveled north by boat on the Georgia side, stopping in heavily littered spots. The shoreline slopes in areas and forms sloughs where trash collects and accumulates during flooding, and we focused on these areas, covering them by foot and collecting as much trash as we were able to carry back to the boat. Piles of plastic bottles and large and small chunks of styrofoam as well as various other remnants of discarded waste were collected and hauled back to the boat in buckets and trash bags while we continued to make our way north.

When we ran out of time we ended our efforts for the day, hauling the trash we collected back to the arranged drop off site and leaving behind a much cleaner shoreline on Goat Rock Lake.

In all we covered about 3/4 of the Goat Rock shoreline on the Georgia side and collected 209 lbs of trash. We marked locations still needing to be cleaned up for when we return to continue our efforts.

If you’re interested in joining us for our next clean up, please check out our Facebook page for volunteer opportunities.